China stocks up on retail, transport gains

Chinese stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, aided by strong gains in consumer and transport firms.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.62 percent at 3,369.11 points. The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.91 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite Index was higher by 1.45 percent.

Meanwhile, the blue-chip CSI300 index gained for the fourth consecutive session, up 0.59 percent, with its financial sector sub-index flat, the consumer staples sector up 1.2 percent, the real estate index up 0.59 percent and the healthcare sub-index up 0.03 percent.

So far this week, the market capitalization of the Shanghai stock index has risen by 1.40 percent to 29.30 trillion yuan ($4.5 trillion).

From a larger view, Asian stocks struck a range of new peaks on Wednesday as risk appetites were whetted by a feast of upbeat manufacturing surveys that confirmed a synchronized upturn in the global economy was well under way.

Activity was especially strong in Europe, lifting bond yields there and driving the euro to within a whisker of its highest in three years against a beleaguered US dollar.

Investors also piled into emerging market trades, delivering a record peak for Philippine stocks, a 24-year top for Thailand and a decadehigh for Hong Kong.

MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 percent, having jumped 1.4 percent on Tuesday in its best performance since March 2017. Japan’s Nikkei index was closed for the holidays.

Wall Street started the new year as it ended the old, scoring another set of record closing peaks.